and on the note about the incarcerated giving back to the economy–the incarcerated DO give back to the economy, esp. in private prison where they are free labor to companies like dell, victoria secret etc. so before we just assume incarcerated folks are in prison chilling, recognize the economic and financial roles of prison. the more people locked up, the more prison contracts that are signed for prisoner uniforms, prison food, prison guard pay increases (they get paid loads in california), the architects to build the prison! so…prisoners do (unwillingly) ‘contribute’ to the economy in the most sadistic and degrading way.

i am going to piggy back on nadia’s comment. too many folks are looking for a quick solution and the reality is that is has taken centuries to build up the horrendous manifestations of a lot of the oppressions we see today, so we are being silly to think that JUST electing a new president or JUST giving prisoners education will wash away centuries of ’strategic planning.’ i think examining commonalities and differences is an important start, and i think more so that we should get more in the habit of thinking about what kind of world we want–no need to live in so we can start building there. in all honesty, sometimes i think we get so bogged down in describing problems (which is a much NEEDED effort because as we can see, our framing can be myopic) that we forget to imagine and dream in a real+tangible sense, what type a world we are builing toward. i think this goes beyond an anti-racist world or an anti-patriarchal world. of course this image will shape over time, but i think it is nice to have something to build toward in addition to knowing what we want to tear down. our differences and similarities are of course important because they will guide how we go about this change–methods, alliances, collaborations etc. like nadia has said we cannot distill this down to simple soundbites and easily digestable units–the difficulty of this task is also the beauty of it.

as someone with a college degree who has never even been arrested and still can’t find a job other than seasonal, part-time retail, i’m pretty skeptical about the idea that a degree is the answer.

i think jon’s comment is exemplary of a major problem…people looking for some grand idea that will make everyone’s problems go away…and some charismatic leader to lead us all to freedom, who has that great idea. we’re talking about mulitple systems and interactions/intersections of oppression, and each one is different but they might share common themes, perpetrators, or serve common interests, so a good start (i think) is examining these commonalities and differences. if we have a clear idea that we are fighting to make all people free regardless, this makes it easier to bring groups/people into the loop, to strategize about how we can best support each other, etc. this is not a simple thing, and thinking about in overly simplistic terms (i.e. economics are THE problem, race is THE problem, gender binaries are THE problem, etc) weakens the base.

As to the rest, the long time thing was the point. IN MY OPINION, minorities are engaging in the “oppression olympics” because they haven’t gained much ground on these numerous issues recently and are squaking at each other to decide who has it the worst. Maybe not, I don’t know (I’d be happy to hear what the “actual situation” is if you’d care to enlighten me.)

You’re not being too harsh, the implications are meaningless because no real change is going to come from blogging comments anyway (we’re all here to blow off steam besides attending city council meetings where real issues are decided), and what solutions do you propose?

The formerly incarcerated are subject to the realities of the business world, which often discriminates against or outright bans hiring based on the existence of a criminal record, whether or not the applicant has a degree or trade. You’re certainly making the assumption that they don’t have a trade or degree, by the way. Add to that the fact that your solution doesn’t address the laws that are shunting people of color into the prison industrial complex, and it looks like your forcible-college-degree solution is a giant waste of money.

(And “requiring” inmates to get a college degree is pretty ludicrous. You’re going to take away *more* rights from the imprisoned by forcing them into an education program, rather than giving them the option to do it? Smacks of fascism to me.)

Many of the things on your list of new problems since the Civil Rights era are not new - they’ve been around forever. Police brutality? Too many black men in jail? Genocide? The
“achievement gap”? Please. These are things people have been fighting a long-ass time. I think your assessment of the situation has alot more to do with the revisionist history we’re fed, and perhaps your willingness to believe it, than the actual situation.

I don’t want to be too harsh, but you really need to think about the implications of some of your statements, and especially your “solutions.”

On a brighter and less rambly note, I think I’ve got a solution to the whole mess. What we need to do is require inmates to get college degrees or learn practical trades so they can get good jobs when they get out. Then all of the blacks who’ve been in jail for 15 years for marijuana possession and other unfair charges will be able to support the childern they fathered before they went in. The kids will have good male role models and school supplies; the moms will be able to be better parents because they won’t have to work three jobs; and the schools will improve becuase the families will be able to pay more in taxes and get off of the government teat. I suppose this got a little wordy, but it is my brilliant idea for breaking the cycle of disenfranchisement. I challenge you to come up with a better one before you dispute mine.